How about: def kill(size, nth): lst = range(size) offset = nth-1 len_ = len(lst) while len_ > 1: del lst[offset

How about: def kill(size, nth): lst = range(size) offset = nth-1 len_ = len(lst) while len_ > 1: del lst[offset::nth] offset = (offset - len_)% nth len_ = len(lst) return lst[0] It will reduce the list by 1/3rd each pass, so it's significantly faster at larger sizes.